New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been incredibly clear about one of his major policy positions: New Yorkers deserve affordable access to quality childcare.
On day eight in office, Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $1.2 billion partnership to launch free, universal childcare for two-year-olds (also known as “2-K”).
Hochul did endorse Mamdani for mayor in 2025, though she noted that they do not always see “eye to eye” on every issue.
But childcare — and the major expense it is for New York residents — is something it seems they both agree on.
“Our city’s in an affordability crisis. After housing, the number one cost pushing families out of the city is childcare, and it’s clear that New Yorkers need universal childcare that isn’t means-tested or just available to the few, that can actually address the needs of so many New Yorkers across all five boroughs,” Mamdani told Good Good Good in an interview earlier this year.
“In partnership with Governor Kathy Hochul, and a $1.2 billion investment from the state, we are on the path to delivering universal childcare to New Yorkers. This will save some families more than $20,000 a year. [This] will put our future New Yorkers on the path to lifelong success. And it will confront the affordability crisis.”
“People want to see government leaders that are actually rolling up their sleeves and putting the focus on the needs of families and businesses,” Hochul added to Good Good Good in a separate interview.
“I think it's just an expectation that families have, that they have leaders who understand them. And especially being a mom myself, I had to give up a job I love because I couldn't find childcare way back when my children were babies and toddlers. And now those kids are having their own kids, and childcare has not gotten any easier — and it's gotten more expensive.”
The rollout of the pilot program will provide 2,000 free 2-K seats to families in four communities this fall, with 12,000 more seats the following year. Four years in, Mamdani said, there will be a free seat for every 2-year-old in N.Y.C.
This effort has a strong foundation; Mayor Bill de Blasio spearheaded efforts to provide free Pre-K and 3-K for all. And Mamdani has also announced the effort to double the number of free 3-K seats across the city earlier this year.
“For families who have access to 3-K, the city's free preschool program for three-year-olds, mothers are more likely to seek employment and to continue employment even after their child finishes 3-K,” Emmy Liss, the executive director of the Mayor's Office of Child Care, told Good Good Good.
“Families who have access to free child care are able to put 20, 30, even $40,000 back in their pocket on an annual basis, which is money that they can put towards other expenses. It's money they can save for the future. It's money that allows them to feel more secure in their economic future here in the state, not to mention the additional money that they may be able to make by having more work flexibility, knowing that their kids are being cared for.”
Seeing the immediate and tangible benefits of the existing program made it easy for Hochul and Mamdani — two people who already care about improving childcare infrastructure — to find common ground.
“To me, it's an important part of my job,” Hochul said about collaborating across disagreements. “I don't decide who gets elected president. I don't decide who gets elected mayor. But once people are in office, my job is to have a relationship that delivers for our mutual constituents.”
For Mamdani, there are inspirations he often cites for his approach to governance, even and especially with people who don’t always agree with his democratic socialist values. One of those people is Fiorello La Guardia, who served as N.Y.C. mayor from 1934 to 1946.
“He is a model for all of us who are looking to meet the needs of working-class New Yorkers. Needs which have so often been overlooked at best, and at worst, exacerbated by City Hall,” Mamdani said.
“He would often demonstrate that in order to face a crisis, you have to ensure that your solution is at the same scale as it. And that’s something that I’m always thinking about in delivering for the people of our city.”
But for people who don’t follow New York politics as closely as its current mayor, there’s another name that might ring a bell.
When asked if there was a piece of children’s media that was foundational to his childhood, Mamdani told Good Good Good, “I’ve always loved Curious George.”
Namely, he adds, “the lesson that it gave all of us about finding our way in a big city and always staying curious each and every day.”
Curiosity will be foundational to fully executing this vision for universal childcare.
Liss, whom Mamdani has selected to lead this ambitious project, calls universal childcare “an all-of-government effort.”
She said that there are over a dozen agencies whose work touches childcare, and her work is to coordinate among them and make sure families, providers, and communities have their voices heard and reflected in that work.
Some of those agencies, she said, include New York City Public Schools, the Department of Health, the Administration of Children’s Services, the Department of Buildings, and more.
Together, these people work to make sure there’s enough space for these childcare providers, that children are healthy and safe, and that low-income families have the support they need to enroll in the programs that help them.
While Hochul and Mamdani often make the headlines, the path to universal childcare is paved by so many more who care about delivering for New Yorkers.
“There are hundreds of really dedicated, thoughtful public servants who are behind the scenes building the system out,” Liss said, “who are working through every last detail to make sure that we build a system that works for families and works for childcare providers.”
Enrollment for free 2-K is now open for eligible N.Y.C. families at myschools.nyc.
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Header image by Kara McCurdy/Mayoral Photography Office
